


Civil War, Alternate Take: Karma v.s. Kayano

by snowflight



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Class Civil War Arc (Assassination Classroom), Emotional and Physical Conflict, Gen, Kayano and Karma-centric, Light Angst, Light Hurt/Comfort, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28102722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowflight/pseuds/snowflight
Summary: “But here’s the thing, Kayano. If there’s one thing we know about you for sure, it’s that you’rewonderfullytalented at acting. At hiding your true feelings and intentions.”Because at the end of the day, lies are still lies, secrets are still secrets, and a shattering of trust can never easily be mended—especially not for Karma.(A rewrite of the civil war arc centering around the distrust-filled conflict between Karma and Kayano after her reveal.)
Relationships: Akabane Karma & Kayano Kaede
Comments: 44
Kudos: 70





	1. Distrust Time

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by [this Tumblr post](https://dreaming-of-assclass.tumblr.com/post/636233847153016832/kayano-is-problematic-alright-ive-got-your)! It was a very well-written and insightful read, so check it out if you're interested!

When Nagisa proposes to find a way to save Korosensei, Karma can’t deny the displeasure that stirs inside him. But it’s whatever. Some of his classmates clearly agree with Nagisa, seeing as Kurahashi and Kataoka and Sugino all crowd around him eagerly. Karma can wait until they’re done being all hopeful before he inevitably ruins the mood by announcing his opposition.

And then when Nakamura steps out of the trees’ shadows to dispute Nagisa’s idea, followed by Terasaka and Yoshida and Muramatsu, Karma feels just the slightest hint of relief. Mainly because he at least won’t have to go through the trouble of arguing with the entire class.

Then Kayano steps forward to speak up.

And Karma has to dig his nails into his palm to quell the uneasiness that instantly twists inside him.

“Guys, I understand your feelings,” Kayano says as she faces Nakamura and Terasaka. “But the thing is... I nearly killed Korosensei, and I really regret it.”

Nakamura pauses and Terasaka narrows his eyes.

Nagisa glances at Kayano with what looks like a mix of relief and gratitude.

Karma realizes that he’s clenching his hand even tighter.

“And for nearly this whole year, my only goal was to get revenge,” Kayano says. “To assassinate him. It was the only thing I could think of for so long, and I was convinced that when I finally killed him, it’d be the happiest moment of my life.”

Then Karma notices that his nails are gouging into his skin so fiercely that they’re nearly drawing blood.

He forces his hand to relax.

“But even then,” Kayano continues, “the moment I thought I killed him, deep down, there wasn’t joy. There was just this horrible feeling of regret. It wasn’t what I truly wanted.” She takes a deep breath. “So please consider this. I don’t want anyone to—”

“Those are some pretty rich words coming from you, Kayano. Or should I call you Yukimura?”

Karma doesn’t expect his own words to come out as harshly and coldly as they do, but that only mildly surprises him more than anything. And right now, they certainly don’t make him feel bad.

Kayano looks at him with a small frown.

“What...” she says quietly. “What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is,” Karma says, and it takes him a conscious effort to keep his voice low and calm, “I’m wondering if you even mean what you say. After all, you’ve practically been faking your entire personality for this whole year.”

Kayano stiffens— _the audacity of her to be the one looking uneasy,_ a small, maybe cruel, part of him thinks—and silence falls over the class. A few students shoot nervous glances between the two of them.

Finally, she says, “I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me, but I’m speaking my genuine feelings right now.”

“But here’s the thing, Kayano—that’s what we thought you were doing the entire time.” Karma pushes off the tree he’s leaning against. “And if there’s one thing we know about you for sure, it’s that you’re _wonderfully_ talented at acting.” His eyes narrow. “At hiding your true feelings and intentions.”

As he begins walking towards her, she turns to face him.

“What... are you trying to say, Karma?” she says slowly, and Karma realizes that he can’t quite discern the tone of her voice or read her expression. Is she nervous? Angered? Ashamed?

 _That’s an acting prodigy for you,_ he thinks wryly.

“I just don’t know how to feel about you talking like this. Like everything’s normal.” He stops a few steps in front of her. “Like you’re really the friend and genuine member of the class that you led us to believe you were.”

Kayano meets his eyes, her lips a tight line.

“What I did was a betrayal of your trust. And the entire class’s trust. I know that,” she says. “But right now, there’s nothing I can do but ask that you believe me when I say that these are my true feelings about killing Korosensei.”

Then, to Karma’s surprise, Nagisa takes a step forward. “Karma, I understand why you feel this way.” He holds out his palm, almost pleadingly so. “And I know that this whole thing was a big surprise to all of us, but—”

“‘ _Surprise’_ is an understatement, Nagisa,” Karma hisses. “Do you not realize that she completely concealed her identity, her bloodlust, and her capabilities for the entire year? That, in any moment, she could’ve literally killed anybody in the class in the blink of an eye?”

“I wouldn’t kill anybody!” Kayano blurts, a tinge of shock in her voice. “I swear. No matter how badly I wanted revenge, I never would’ve harmed any of you guys.”

“And you think I believe that?” Karma lets out a low laugh. “Especially when, from what I remember, you were always more than willing to just stand by and watch the class get harmed.”

Kayano freezes, her expression finally breaking into something that looks like guilt.

“Like when the Reaper was planning to drown us all,” Karma says. “That was totally fine by you, apparently. Even though if it weren’t for Mr. Karasuma, we’d be a pile of bloated corpses rotting in a tunnel right now.”

From the corner of his vision, Karma sees some of his classmates wince—whether it’s at the memory, at his word choice, or at the venom in his voice, he doesn’t know and he doesn’t care.

“Or is it that you knew _you’d_ survive, with your abilities and all?” he continues. “Maybe you were planning to take the opportunity to kill Korosensei while he was drowning with the rest of us.” A sinister smirk flickers across his face. “Clever of you to take advantage of the Reaper’s plan like that.”

“No, that wasn’t my plan at all,” Kayano says, almost hastily. “And I—If I knew for sure we weren’t going to make it out alive, I don’t think I would’ve done nothing.”

“Well, I hope you didn’t forget what happened on the island resort,” Karma says coldly. “You clearly weren’t planning to use your abilities to help us out back then, either. Not with retrieving the antidote we thought would save our classmates’ lives, and not when Takaoka was beating your so-called _best friend_ Nagisa half to death right in front of you.”

At those words, Kayano actually flinches, and Karma feels a dark flutter of something he can’t identify—some twisted combination of satisfaction and annoyance all at once.

“But I guess you just had to keep your little vengeful plot a secret. It was just too important to you, wasn’t it? Certainly more important than the lives of your classmates.”

There’s visible remorse on Kayano’s face as she takes a deep breath, although it does nothing to calm his anger.

“Karma, I was wrong,” she says, “and there’s no excuse I can make for that. In those moments, I chose my revenge and my personal goals over my classmates. I can’t deny that.”

“Well, it’s nice to know you at least have the awareness to acknowledge that.”

Her lips tighten. “But I truly do care about you guys and the friendships we have. And this doesn’t justify what I did, but I wasn’t in the right state of mind for a really long time.” One of her hands rises to her nape as she lowers her gaze to the ground. “When the tentacles were influencing me, it was hard for me to even _consider_ giving up my revenge.”

Karma pauses at that—but the memory of the danger, of the literal _fear_ he felt for his classmates’ safety, is too fresh in his mind, and his fury doesn’t ease.

Her hand drops. “But I’m finally free of their control. And if it’s any reassurance, there’s no way now that I will ever think about letting my friends get hurt for my own selfish desires again.” She looks up to face him again. “I know that I can’t make you believe me. But I can promise you that my words are true.”

Karma lets out a small snort. “Sorry, Kayano, but any promise you make means nothing to me right now.”

“Hey, but...” Nagisa says hesitantly. “Itona’s been completely fine once he got his tentacles removed, right?”

“ _Itona,”_ Karma snaps, “isn’t the one who deceived his friends for nearly a year.” He glares at Kayano. “And that’s the thing. No matter how much control the tentacles had on you or whatever, it doesn’t change the fact that you were never a true member of this class.”

Hurt flashes across Kayano’s face, but any guilt that Karma might’ve felt is incinerated by the seething rage inside him.

“While everybody else was working hard on their assassinations,” he says, “ _you_ were hiding something that was dozens of times more deadly. This bond of assassin and target that our class is built from—it has never been real for you.”

As he speaks, a bitter contentment fills him as he notices how Kayano’s discomfort is now discernible from the tension in her form and the uneasy frown on her face.

“How could it have been real for you, when you were secretly sitting above us all the entire time? Everyone’s assassination attempts had to have looked absolutely pathetic.”

“That’s not true,” Kayano says quietly. “Even back when I had my tentacles, I still admired you guys and all the methods you came up with.”

“And yet you’re willing to just trample over it all,” Karma growls. “Let’s just give up and toss all the progress we’ve made into the trash. It must be easy for you when you were never truly a part of it.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say!” Kayano says, eyes widening. “Despite it all, I know how much assassination means to our class. But I also don’t want anybody to end up regretting it.”

“But haven’t you realized that the octopus has been working so hard to make a fun classroom that we’d give our all in?” Karma feels his voice rising. “This classroom couldn’t exist if our bloodlust was blunted!”

“I know, and I’m being honest with my feelings! I really do care about Korosensei, as both a person and a teacher, and I don’t—”

“And _I_ thought you’d be able to see all of the hard work both Korosensei and our classmates put into this class,” Karma snarls, “but I guess I shouldn’t have expected that from a lying fake who snuck her way into here.”

Kayano stiffens at those words. And then her face hardens.

“Fine,” she says, and her voice is so steely that it takes Karma aback for a split-second.

 _The sweet, mellow Kayano never existed,_ he reminds himself scathingly. _Stop being surprised._

“I can’t force you to trust me, Karma. And maybe you’re right—maybe I really don’t have the right to speak on this issue,” she says evenly. “But even so, that doesn’t change how I personally feel about this. Or the fact that my feelings right now are genuine.”

Karma tilts his head. “If you’re really as genuine as you say you are,” he says, flashing her a dark, taunting smile, “then why don’t you prove it by beating me in a fight?”

“What?”

“Attack me with your tentacles.”

Her face flickers with shock before turning into what almost looks like a glare. “What are you talking about? We both know that I don’t have them anymore.”

“And we also both know that your physical enhancements should still be intact.” He takes a step towards her. “Be honest. I probably won’t even be a match for you.”

She doesn’t move.

“Attack me.”

He takes another step forward.

“Come on.”

Another step, and this time she steps backwards in response.

“What’s wrong?”

She takes another step back.

“You didn’t show this hesitation when you nearly killed Korosensei.”

Then Kayano’s head snaps up and she meets Karma’s gaze.

“You want to see no hesitation?” she says, her voice low as she places a foot back once again—but Karma realizes with both a chill and a rush of dark excitement that, this time, it’s not a retreat.

It’s preparation to lunge at him in attack.

“That’s more like it,” he hisses with a grim smile, shifting his weight to match her offensive stance. “Time to quit hiding, Kayano. Show everybody here what you—”

Nagisa throws himself between them.

“Stop it! We don’t need to get into a fight right now!” he yells, raising a hand towards both of them. “What are you guys even trying to accomplish from this?”

Karma whirls to face him. “Keeping our classroom from ending up as a half-assed pile of disappointments.”

Kayano turns to him too. “I was trying to—”

“A junior-high fight? Most excellent!”

The voice of Korosensei is the last thing Karma expects to intervene, but there’s a rush of wind and suddenly his teacher is standing in the middle of the class—in a military uniform, of all things, full with sunglasses and a pipe.

Karma’s anger momentarily wavers. He blinks in confusion at Korosensei along with the rest of his classmates.

“But for this classroom based in assassination,” Korosensei says, eyes gleaming, “we should settle things with _these!”_

He drops two boxes in front of him. Both are filled to the brim with weapons—knives, handguns, rifles—and on the ground beside them are several tubes of BB paintballs.

Takebayashi kneels down to examine one of the tubes. “Red and blue paintballs?”

Korosensei nods. “Red for those who want to kill me, and blue for those who don’t.”

_Ah._

Now Karma turns to face Korosensei fully. He feels the tension in his body beginning to evaporate, replaced by anticipation.

_Looks like I’m getting the fight I want._

“First, everybody will state their position clearly before picking a weapon,” Korosensei says. “Then we’ll do battle here on the mountain. Getting hit by the other team’s ink counts as death. Win by eliminating all members from the opposite team or securing their flag, and the winning team’s opinion will be accepted by the entire class, no hard feelings.” He takes off his cap. “I’ll respect whatever decision you end up going with, as long as you give it your all to reach it.”

Murmurs ripple across the students. Isogai walks up to the front and looks at the rest of the class. “Well?”

Everybody nods in agreement, and soon, people begin picking their weapons and choosing their sides. As Nagisa goes up to the blue box of weapons, Karma doesn’t miss the way he casts a nervous frown between him and Kayano.

Karma’s about to go pick his weapon right when Korosensei walks up to the two of them.

“You know... I do understand why you guys might be having these feelings of distrust and bitterness,” Korosensei says, removing his sunglasses, “but if there’s one thing I don’t want, it’s this class ending in conflict and discord. So if you really care about me...” He gazes at Kayano and Karma, and his smile softens. “Please promise me you won’t let that happen.”

Kayano glances at Karma, her expression equal parts uneasiness and guilt. Then she looks back at Korosensei. “Okay,” she says with a smile. The brief flash of anxiety on her face is now completely absent. “I promise, Korosensei.”

Karma doesn’t say anything. Instead, he simply goes over to the weapons to pick up a knife edged with red paint.

It’s not that Karma doesn’t want to make that promise to Korosensei.

Even as he walks away from the weapons to join up with the rest of the Red Team, for a moment, that familiar hue of unnatural, dyed, _fake_ green flutters by in the corner of his vision.

He just doesn’t know if he’ll be able to keep it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (warning, kind of long A/N below:)
> 
> okay so this was probably one of the most challenging scenes I've ever written for a fic LOL 
> 
> There was just so many things i felt like I needed to do _right_ to pull this off well--from connecting the Karma Kayano distrust/conflict to the argument of whether or not they should save Korosensei, to making sure that Karma's lashing out wasn't too overboard or asshole-y, to making sure that Kayano's reaction and eventual retaliation didn't feel unjustified, either.
> 
> But at the same time, this was so, so fun. Writing an angry Karma popping off on someone is honestly... entertaining? LOL like when I reread what I wrote, I'm legit like "DAMN he went OFF" and it's kinda fun to watch. And it was also really fun for me to put more of a highlight on this serious, fierce, more "badass" part of Kayano that we saw when she first revealed herself. Pre-reveal Kayano was cute, but the badass, sharp, almost snarky Kayano we saw during her reveal is something I wouldn't have minded seeing more of even if her tentacles did get removed. Currently I'm still not tooooo confident with handling her character, but I do admit that I enjoyed writing that _"You wanna see no hesitation"_ part at the end the most hehe
> 
> Anyways, any constructive criticism or feedback in general would be _immensely_ appreciated--especially any thoughts about my characterization of Karma and Kayano here or my portrayal of the conflict between them. It was quite the challenge for me, and even now I'm still just a tiny bit unsure about those elements :'0 
> 
> The plan is to write out the civil war arc for this and have a resolution between Karma and Kayano, but I can't make any promises on the timeliness because of school ;-; But anyways, thank you so much for reading, and hope you enjoyed!


	2. Insight Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to specify, the teams are the same as in canon, so:  
>  **Red Team:** Karma, Nakamura, Terasaka, Itona, Hazama, Chiba, Hayami, Yoshida, Sugaya, Okajima, Kimura, Mimura, Muramatsu, Okano  
>  **Blue Team:** Nagisa, Isogai, Kayano, Okuda, Takebayashi, Kataoka, Yada, Maehara, Kurahashi, Kanzaki, Hara, Sugino, Fuwa

As Kayano walks over to the Blue Team, she doesn't miss the way a faint uneasiness ripples over her teammates—even if it's for just a split-second as Sugino then shoots her a friendly smile and Kurahashi cheerfully waves at her.

"Mr. Karasuma says the battle's starting in five minutes." Kurahashi grabs her arm to pull her into the group. "Come on!"

Kayano nods and lets herself join the circle, finding a spot beside Kataoka and Kurahashi.

"The Red Team overpower us in sheer power, and they also have a lot more specialized members," Isogai is saying. "So if we want to win this, it'll be really important for us to make sure not to get split up."

By now, everybody's attention has returned to Isogai, so Kayano tries to push down the guilt writhing inside her. But even then, she still notices the stiffness that remains in her teammates' forms and the way some of their faces are tilted away from her ever so slightly.

Because as subtle as those signs may be, she can't help seeing through their attempt at concealing their uneasiness—especially not after she's spent so long hiding her own emotions.

 _Maybe this is just karma,_ a part of her thinks wryly. _That acting expertise I used to deceive my friends for so long is finally hurt_ _ing_ _me_ _now_ _._

But whether her teammates' uneasiness is from discomfort at her conflict with Karma, or if it's from distrust towards her... she doesn't know. And she's not sure if she wants to find out.

"But we've got strong fighters on our side, too," Isogai says, glancing over the team with a smile. "Just don't let your guard down, and make sure to communicate as much as possible."

"Two minutes!" Mr. Karasuma calls out.

"All right, guys!" Isogai pulls up his hood. "Time to get into position."

Everybody nods, picking up their weapons before spreading out into the forest. As Kayano gets into position, Nagisa walks up to her.

She turns to him. "Nagisa?"

"Kayano, I..." His voice trails off for just a second. "I want you to know that I do believe you when you said how much this means to you. And I'm grateful that you stood up for my side back there."

From the hesitation in his tone, he clearly has more to say, so Kayano just nods.

"But Karma, and others, too, probably," Nagisa continues. "I also understand how they feel. About you—you hiding your identity and your abilities the whole time."

Kayano feels a resigned smile form on her face. "That's okay."

"But it's not just from that," he says quickly. "I mean like the entire time, I didn't know your true name or your true motives, right?" He pauses. "But I also didn't know that you were in pain from those tentacles, or how lonely you might've felt the entire time."

Kayano blinks at him.

"You've always been hiding from us. Everything about yourself." Nagisa smiles, and it's small and hesitant. "I guess I'm just trying to say that... I hope that someday, you'll be able to express yourself without hiding. Both the good and the bad."

It takes a moment for his words to sink in, and an even longer moment for Kayano to open her mouth. "Nagisa—"

"One minute left!" Mr. Karasuma calls.

"Ah." Nagisa pulls up his hood. "Okay, I need to get into position now." He gives her one more quick smile before slinking off into the forest.

Kayano stares at his departing figure before shaking her head and returning to her position beside Kurahashi.

"Now." Mr. Karasuma's voice booms through the speakers in her hood. "Let the intraclass assassination survival battle..."

Kayano tightens her grip on her knife as Nagisa's words echo in her head.

" _Begin!"_

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

"Hey, Itona." Karma walks over to Itona. "Can I ask you a few questions about tentacles?"

Itona turns to him mid-conversation with Terasaka. "Sure. I'm not doing anything important anyways."

Terasaka makes an offended face and glares at Karma. "What do you even have to ask about _now?"_ he grumbles. "You already told us the battle plan, and we have like three minutes before the battle starts."

"There are just some things I realized I wanted to get informed of first." Karma shrugs with a satisfied smirk. "And clearly it's more important that talking to you."

Terasaka snorts. "Do what you want," he mutters, walking over to Yoshida and Muramatsu.

Karma turns to Itona. "Don't worry, this should be quick," he says. "So first, I wanted to know specifically what kinds of physical enhancements you had."

Itona blinks. "The biggest ones were agility and reflexes, probably. Kinetic vision too. I was able to visually track Korosensei's movements back then."

Karma nods. "So lots of speed. What about strength?"

"Not much. The power of my attacks always came from the speed of my tentacles."

"All right, cool. I just have one more question."

Itona tilts his head. "Kayano?"

Karma blinks, surprised, and then makes a wry smile. "So you already know what I'm about to ask," he says. "That makes it easier, then. How strong do you think her enhancements are now?"

"If she's the same as me, then they should've dulled."

"By how much?"

"Enough so that her capabilities are limited to human levels now." Itona pauses for a second. "But I remember my reflexes and agility being the slowest to decline."

"Reflexes and agility, huh."

Itona nods. "It's only been a bit over two weeks, right? So my guess is that she's still maintained some of the enhancements in that aspect."

"I see."

Then Karma realizes that Itona's staring at him.

"What is it?" he says.

Itona's expression is unreadable as ever. "Are you going to change the plan?"

Karma glances over at Chiba and Hayami. They stand in the corner of the clearing, giving their sniper rifles one last check.

"Nope," Karma says. "Same plan. For now, at least."

"Okay."

"Well, anyways, those were all my questions." Karma slightly tilts his head at Itona, a sort of half-nod of gratitude. "Thanks."

"Wait."

Karma pauses halfway through turning around. "Hm?"

"I don't plan to get involved in your issue," Itona says. "But there's one thing I think I should say."

"Oh? I didn't take you for such a talker." Karma doesn't need to ask to know what _issue_ he's talking about. "But sure, say it."

"What Kayano said about the tentacles isn't a lie."

Karma narrows his eyes.

"With strong emotions, they latch onto your mind. Especially if you're mentally at a low point. The negative feelings are amplified, and they turn into the only thing you can focus on."

Then Itona pauses, showing the first ever hint of hesitation since the conversation began.

"Is that all?" Karma says.

"Hm." There's a beat of silence as Itona seems to consider Karma's words. Then he says, "I don't know her or her relationship to the class that well. Or what she did to you guys. But I know that she was telling the truth."

Karma opens his mouth on instinct, because uncertainty isn't something he wants to show, and especially not to _this_ —but he isn't sure what kind of words are going to come out.

"One minute left!" Mr. Karasuma calls.

"Positions," is the word that comes out. He turns his gaze to the rest of the clearing and scans the Red Team. "We have one minute left." His voice is firm. "Get into your positions, everyone."

He's met with quick nods before the team begins dispersing into the forest. Karma heads to a boulder at the edge of the clearing. As he sits himself at its top, he withdraws his knife.

"Now." Mr. Karasuma's voice booms through the speakers in his hood. "Let the intraclass assassination survival battle..."

Karma spins the blade in his hand as Itona's words echo in his head.

" _Begin."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kayano's karma line is my favourite line from this chapter LOL it... was just too perfect.
> 
> I hope this chapter was still enjoyable despite its shortness! I took some time to plan the actual course of the civil war, and so far I'm liking it and really excited to get it started ;)) While working on it, I actually spent quite some time looking at the canon events of the civil war, so it may be beneficial to get refreshed on that for the next chapter if you want to---but it probably won't matter too much. Anyways, thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to the next update!


	3. Battle Time

Kataoka and Takebayashi are the first two to fall.

“They got sniped.” Isogai’s alarmed voice rings through the speaker comms. “It must’ve been Chiba and Hayami.”

 _Kataoka was in charge of our defense,_ Kayano realizes as she makes her way through the forest alongside Kurahashi, _and Takebayashi had that paint bomb plan._

_These targets were strategically chosen._

“Damn it,” Maehara mutters through the comms. “We really need to watch out for those two.”

Kayano considers offering to track and kill one of the snipers— _They probably won’t expect someone like me to be fast enough to take them out—_ but then Kanzaki’s voice responds.

“Don’t worry guys. I can take care of it.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Chiba and Okajima are the next two casualties.

Karma internally curses himself for forgetting about Kanzaki’s experience in battlefield tactics and navigation. Well, at least Okajima’s dying scream was admittedly kinda hilarious.

“Ah, sorry guys,” Karma murmurs into his comm. “This was an overlook on my part.”

“She’s probably headed towards our flag,” Nakamura says from beside him. “Should I go and try to take her out?”

“No, this was my mistake.” Karma leaps off of his boulder. “I’ll handle this.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

“I’ve just defeated Sugaya as well,” Kanzaki’s voice reports.

“Nice!” Sugino’s amazement is amusingly audible through his voice in the speaker. “Keep it up, Kanzaki!”

“Where are you right now?” Isogai asks.

“East of their flag. I can see—”

Then there’s a small yelp and Kayano stiffens.

“Kanzaki?” Kayano says.

No response.

Kayano shares a glance with Kurahashi.

Then a faint voice comes from the comm.

“...then all I need to do is lie in wait for you along the way.”

It’s Karma’s.

Kayano grips her knife tighter.

“What happened?” Kurahashi says anxiously as more silence ensues.

Kayano turns to Kurahashi. “Karma got her.”

“It’s all right.” Isogai then says through the comm. “Kanzaki was a big help. Now we can advance without worrying about Chiba. Everyone, continue as planned!”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Karma has to admit that killing Kanzaki with his own hands brought him a feeling that he missed. The sure slash of a knife, the decisive strike on a target—sensations that were reassuringly familiar. That he could trust.

He lifts the comm mic to his mouth. “Come in, Red Team. I’ll take the lead from here.”

A chorus of “Okay”s come from the speakers.

“All right, Mimura,” Karma says, making his way back to his boulder, “see that high point to Karasuma’s right? Head there, and don’t let anybody see you.”

“Okay.”

“And Terasaka, you and the other two stooges are on defense at Face Rock.” Karma can feel the pieces of a plan beginning to fall into place in his mind. “It’ll be a pain if they make it past there, so guard it closely.”

“Karma,” Mimura reports. “I’m in position.”

Karma lets out a hum. “You should be able to see the enemies’ positions from here. Report to me, and I’ll make orders based on that.”

A pause. And then, “Sugino and Fuwa, I think, in the forest on the right flank.”

“Nice, Mimura.” Karma lets his lip quirk upwards in a small satisfied smile. “Next up, Hazama. Advance.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

There’s a mix of screams that sounds like Fuwa’s and Sugino’s, and then it gets cut short.

“What’s happening?” Kurahashi says frantically into her comm, but there’s no response.

“I think their group got ambushed,” Kayano says. “There’s no way Sugino would’ve lost in a direct close quarters confrontation.”

_Although... it’s a bit strange how they managed to prepare an ambush in that area. It’s so deep into our own territory._

And then sure enough, Isogai’s yell rings from the comm. “Damn it, stop becoming one with the darkness!”

“Okay, that’s definitely Hazama.” Kayano leans her face towards her comm mic. “Isogai, who else is there? What happened?”

“Sugino and Fuwa are dead,” Isogai says after a moment. “I just took out Hazama. I think she was alone. But it looks like we won’t be able to pull off our simultaneous attack plan...”

“What should we do now?” Kurahashi says.

And then it hits Kayano.

“Isogai,” she says, a bit more sharply than she expected, “our positions are getting leaked.”

“Wait. Oh. _Oh.”_ She can hear the realization fill Isogai’s voice. “You’re right. That explains how they even knew we were there.” There’s a short pause. “Thanks, Kayano. Okuda and I will look for this spy. You guys—”

A rustle sounds behind Kayano and she whirls around, knife raised. Isogai’s voice is faintly audible from her comm, but her focus is seized by the movement and noises that flutter from the trees above her.

“Be careful,” she says to Kurahashi, moving to stand back to back with her. “They’re coming.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

“Oh, I see what you’re doing,” Nakamura says when Karma returns. “Dwindle their forces by taking them out one small group at a time.”

“You got it.” He pulls himself up onto the boulder. “Now that we’ve disrupted their forces with the ambush, Okano and Kimura should be able to do some decent damage.”

“But the Blue Team does have some good fighters.” Nakamura has a hand on her chin. “Maehara and Isogai could probably be a match for them.”

“Yep. That’s why I told _our_ fighters to use hit-and-run tactics. Dash in, make the kill, escape.” Karma mentally runs through the list of Blue Team members. “And there isn’t anybody capable of matching their speed. There _shouldn’t_ be, at least.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kayano lunges in front of Kurashashi and blocks Okano’s knife just a heartbeat before the hit connects.

Surprise flashes across Okano’s face, and she leaps back.

“Wow,” Okano says with a smile. “I didn’t think you would be able to keep up with my movements.”

“Sorry for hiding it.” Kayano smiles apologetically.

_I’ve always been able to._

Then she dashes forward to slash at Okano, who ducks to the side and dodges it. She retaliates with a slash of her own, but Kayano leaps backwards out of its range before it can reach her.

Droplets of red and blue paint jump in the air as the two of them skirmish in a flurry of lunges and swings. Kayano darts side to side, deflecting and dodging each of Okano’s attacks, slightly gritting her teeth as her own attacks are met with the same evasiveness.

And then Okano spins, sending her foot flying forward with a blade at the end—

—and for a moment, Kayano sees how Okano’s arms tilt away from the side of her body.

_There._

Before Okano can land the hit, Kayano rushes forward and leaves a streak of blue across her unguarded side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original civil war, I remembered how disappointed I was that Kayano got taken out so quickly (without a single kill), especially when the whole thing happened like RIGHT after her reveal and she showed us how powerful she actually was. So here we go!! In here, she's able to both save Kurahashi _and_ take out Okano before Kimura arrives, and... we'll see how it changes things >:))
> 
> I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring! I understand if it was, since most of it was pretty much a written version of the actual civil war--but from here on out, things are going to get shaken up _quite_ a bit, and I'm super hyped to have the next few chapters posted!!
> 
> And Happy New Years Eve everyone! Thanks for reading as always <3


	4. Battle Time, 2nd Period

"What?"

"Kayano just killed Okano," Kimura says again. He ducks behind a tree as Kayano, whom he can see through the leaves a few dozen meters away, slightly turns in his direction.

A few moments of silence pass, and Kimura fidgets with the comm speaker. Then Karma says, "Did she see you?"

"No, but I can see her. Maybe I can go and kill both—"

"Don't." Karma's tone has a strange, slight edge to it. "If she could keep up with Okano, she'll be able to keep up with you, too. And we still don't know just how much more she's capable of."

"Ah... All right." Kimura can't help let a bit of disappointment spill into his voice.

"It's fine. Just go find a different target."

"Okay."

Kimura pulls out his guns and heads off into a different direction of the forest.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Karma twirls his knife in his hand, watching it spin and flip and whirl in the air in its familiar rhythm. But for the first time ever, as Kimura's report replays in his head, the weight of the knife feels too light and the swing of its movements feels too unsteady.

As Nakamura glances at him, he closes his fingers around the hilt and forces his hand to still.

 _Calm down,_ he mutters to himself. _One curveball isn't going to ruin everything. Even if it_ is _Kayano._

"Nakamura." He turns to her. "Now that the forces of both teams should be approaching half—"

"It's almost time to start preparing to secure the flag, right?" She tilts her head. "You already went over this."

Karma shrugs. "I know. Just making sure we're on the same page."

Well, that's the best excuse he can come up with right now. He doubts that Nakamura forgot such important details of their strategy.

It's just that he has to do _something_ to quell the restlessness gnawing inside him, and retracing the details of the plan, something concrete and reliable, is the only thing he can do right now.

"I'll be in charge of getting the flag while you remain at defense for ours," Nakamura says, slightly raising an eyebrow. "At some point they're probably going to focus on getting rid of Hayami. That'll create the diversion I'll need to make it to the Blue Team's flag. And I'm assuming I can also use those three meatshields you put up for defense at Face Rock?"

"Okay," Karma says, letting out a huff that's halfway between a wry laugh and a sigh. He leans back on his boulder. "Same page indeed."

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kayano narrows her eyes at the bushes in front of her. She could've sworn she just heard a noise coming from that direction. But she turns back around as she hears Kurahashi's voice.

"Wow!" Kurahashi runs up to her with a big smile and wide eyes. "You killed Okano. That was amazing!"

Kayano lets out a small laugh. "Thanks. But we still—"

Then there's a rustle and Kayano freezes. She holds her breath and scans her surroundings in a circle. Her gaze passes over the trees and bushes, the uneven bumps on the ground, the high ledge nearby, until—

A movement. She can make out the vague form of someone moving through the forest in the distance.

_We're supposed to be moving in groups._

_That's not a Blue Team member._

Kayano turns to Kurahashi. "I think I just saw an enemy. I'm going to go check it out."

"Okay!" Kurahashi nods. "I'll go join up with Maehara for defense in the meantime."

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

"Found anyone yet?" Isogai asks.

Okuda lowers her binoculars, shaking her head with a small sigh.

"It's okay." Isogai gives her a smile that he hopes is reassuring. "There are only a few places where you can get a clear view of our side of the forest. We've checked most of them, so it's only a matter of time before we find the spy."

"That's true." Okuda's face brightens up a bit. "We can do it!"

As they walk down the forest path, Isogai pauses.

Were those footsteps he was hearing...?

Or maybe that was just the rustle of leaves in the wind.

He tries to shake off the apprehension inside him, but as the noise grows louder, he turns around—

—just in time to see Kimura leap out from the bushes.

Isogai instantly raises his gun and fires.

Simultaneously, Kimura darts to the side in a burst of speed, raising his own gun.

Blue paint explodes on the trees behind where Kimura stood a moment ago as a splash of red paint bursts on Okuda's shoulder.

Then, before Isogai can fire another round of paintballs, Kimura dashes back into the trees.

"Not so fast!" Isogai follows, keeping his eyes trained on Kimura's retreating figure.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kayano hears a round of gunshots echo in the distance. And was that a yell?

Quickening her pace, she heads towards the direction of the sound. And soon enough, she sees a figure standing in the midst of the trees a few meters in front of her.

She runs up to them. "Hey—"

Okuda turns around.

"Okuda?" Kayano blinks. "I thought you were finding the spy with Isogai. What..."

Okuda covers her mouth with her hand. Kayano notices the splash of red paint on her shoulder.

"Ah," Kayano says. "You were eliminated."

And eliminated players aren't allowed to communicate.

Kayano turns to her surroundings, taking in the blue and red paint scattered across the trees and the ground.

"Okay, I think I got the gist of what happened." Kayano turns to Okuda. "I'll go ahead then."

She smiles and gives Okuda a wave of goodbye.

Okuda doesn't wave back. She simply glances away, her lips tightens into an uneasy frown and her body tilted away from Kayano ever so slightly.

Kayano continues on her way and ignores the small sting in her chest.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kimura shoots a quick glance behind him. Isogai is hot in his pursuit, but he isn't holding up his gun.

 _He won't be able to fire without slowing down,_ Kimura realizes, summoning a burst of speed. As he continues running, he weaves between the bushes and trees to try to lose his pursuer. But although the footsteps echoing behind him seem to get fainter, they still don't fade entirely.

A few moments later, he glimpses a figure through the trees to his right.

_Is that..._

Kimura makes a sharp rightwards swerve with his guns eagerly raised.

_If Isogai's determined to chase me down, then I'll get some more free kills before I get caught._

Then he leaps out of the trees at the defenseless, unsuspecting Hara.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

A muffled scream rings from Karma's comm speaker.

"That's... Kimura," Karma says flatly. "Did he run into a tree or something?"

"Oh, I think it might've been Hara's traps," Nakamura says. "She's always been good at those. She probably set some up in the Blue Team territory."

"Makes sense," Karma says. "I guess he got ahead of himself and saw her as an easy target."

"Ah, well." Nakamura does a half-shrug. "But it was about time for me to start taking action anyways, wasn't it?"

"Pretty much," Karma says. "Use those three stooges well."

"Gotcha." With an airy wave, Nakamura heads down to the field.

 _In the meantime..._ Karma raises his comm mic to his mouth. "Hayami, you there?"

"Yes," is Hayami's immediate response.

"You know where Kimura got caught? That area should be within your range." Karma slightly smiles. "Let's do a little avenging."

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

As Kayano follows the direction where that weird scream rang out, she expects it to be from another victim of that Red Team intruder. But to her surprise (and relief), she's instead met with the sight of Hara without a drop of red paint on her and very much alive.

"Oh hi, Kayano," Hara says pleasantly.

Kayano blinks. "Hara?"

Hara stands beside a large net trap that's splayed open on the ground. Kimura sits in the middle of it with a streak of blue paint on his side.

Groaning, Kimura pushes himself to his feet.

Hara smiles at him. "Never underestimate motherly power."

Kimura sighs. "Okay, Mom"—he begins violently coughing—" _Hara._ I mean Hara."

Hara simply hums contentedly as she goes over to her trap to begin resetting it.

"So it was _you_ who I was chasing, Kimura," Kayano says. "No wonder it was taking me forever to catch you."

"You were chasing me too, Kayano?" Kimura says.

"Huh?"

"Kayano?"

Kayano turns around at Isogai's voice. He's panting as slows to a stop beside her.

"I didn't know you were chasing him too," he says. "I guess I really didn't need to run that far then."

Kayano opens her mouth to respond, but she freezes a soft hiss sounds in the air. Then she blinks and red paint bursts on Hara's shoulder.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

"I've just eliminated Hara," Hayami reports.

"Nice," Karma replies. "See anybody else?"

A small pause, followed by, "Isogai and Kayano just arrived at the scene. Who should I aim for?"

Hayami's tone is urgent. Of course it is. She has a few seconds at most before they find cover after just seeing their ally get shot.

But the question makes Karma freeze and he hates it because Isogai, the Blue Team commander, strategist, _leader_ , is the most sensible option, yet still Karma can't quite get rid of the annoying, irrational buzz that loudens inside him at the thought of Kayano—

He crushes his thoughts and tightens his grip on the comm mic and sharply says, "Isogai."

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

"We're in Hayami's range," Kayano shouts, alarmed, whirling to stare in the direction from where Hara got hit. Alertness fills Isogai's face at the same time, and he immediately shoots a glance around him for the nearest cover.

But before they can move, Kayano catches the slightest flutter of movement in the distance.

_Is that—_

Kayano grabs Isogai's arm without thinking and pulls him to the side with a swift, sharp jerk right before red paint explodes on the ground where he stood a split-second ago.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Karma hears a _tch_ come from Hayami. "Isogai avoided my shot."

"What?" Karma straightens. "How?"

"He..." She pauses. "I think Kayano detected it. She pulled him out of the way."

 _Kinetic vision too_ , Itona said. _I was able to visually track Korosensei's movements back then._

Karma shakes his head, but that buzz inside him doesn't ease.

"So now we know for sure she's likely retained most of her kinetic vision and reflexes. That's fine. Don't stress about it, Hayami."

"Okay."

"On that note," Karma says, "the Blue Team is probably going to try and take you down soon. So don't worry about finding picks anymore and start preparing for a large assault with Itona."

"Roger."

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kayano and Isogai find cover behind a pair of trees before another shot can fire.

"Wow." Isogai glances at the splotch of red paint on the ground. "Did you... _see_ the paintball?"

"Well..." Kayano says. "I saw movement from the same direction that Hara got shot. And I intuitively predicted it, I guess?"

She pauses as uncertainty flutters inside her, but she pushes it down.

_I'm not going to hide anymore._

"Back when I had tentacles," Kayano says, "I was able to accurately control them at mach speeds. I could also keep track of Korosensei's movements while I was fighting him."

Isogai blinks at her.

"My kinetic vision and reflexes probably haven't fully worn off yet. That's how I sensed it." Despite it all, Kayano still can't help letting her voice waver at the end. The guilt and shame burning inside her is still too fresh and too hot.

Isogai nods slowly. "I see. That does make sense. Itona also maintained his abilities for a bit." Then he smiles. "But thanks for saving me. If I died there, then things would've looked _really_ bad for us."

Kayano's never had trouble seeing through fake grins or empty laughs, and she detects no trace of insincerity in Isogai's smile. But even as she nods at Isogai in response, she can still hear Karma's bitter words, see Okuda's nervous frown, sense the uneasiness that spread across her teammates when she first walked up to them—and the weight of something that feels like doubt sinks inside her nonetheless.

"Anyways, Hayami's way too dangerous," Isogai says. "As long as she's in action, there'll be no way for us to safely approach the Red Team's flag."

"Yeah," Kayano says. "But how are we going to deal with her?"

Isogai puts a hand on his chin, thinking. Then he raises his mic to his mouth. "Yada, Kurahashi, meet me in the left forest. We're going to take down Hayami." He turns to Kayano. "You stay at defense with Maehara."

"Huh?" Kayano says. "That's a really small group you're bringing to confront Hayami though."

"I know. I'm not expecting to make it out of this alive."

Kayano frowns. "But then what..."

"Once Hayami's out, we'll have a much better chance at winning this. I'm going to give my all to take her down," Isogai says. "And after that, I know I can leave it to you and the rest of the team to finish things up for us."

Kayano blinks. "Isogai—"

"I'm going now." Isogai pulls up his hood before smiling at Kayano again. "I trust you, Kayano."

Then he's off, and Kayano begins making her way back to the flag to join up with Maehara for defense. As she walks, she hears the echo of Isogai's words in her head and realizes that the weight inside her might just feel a little bit lighter.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Soon enough, Mimura's voice comes reporting from Karma's comm speakers.

"There's a group approaching from the right. Towards Hayami."

_As expected._

"Can you see who's in the group?" Karma says.

"Isogai... and Kurahashi. Oh, and Yada, too."

"All right, thanks," Karma replies. "Hayami, Itona, they're coming for you guys. At the very least, stop them. But if you can, eliminate them."

"Roger," Hayami and Itona respond.

_Isogai, Kurahashi, Yada, huh..._

One of Karma's fingers begins tapping on the hilt of his knife.

_So Maehara's on defense probably. Makes sense, with his close range specialty._

In the distance, Karma can make out Nakamura getting into position beside Terasaka's squad by the big rock sitting on the edge of the field.

_And Kayano..._

A bit further behind them, Mr. Karasuma overlooks the battlefield from the top of a high outcropping of rock.

Karma pauses.

"Mimura?" he says.

"Yeah?"

"Good job spying so far. I have a new job for you now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to [this](https://ansatsu-database.tumblr.com/post/144642543040/e-20-hara-sumire-character-profile), Kimura called Hara "mom" by accident once?? that's so funny and I had to add that in
> 
> Thank you for reading as always! I loved writing out this chapter and adding my twists to the original civil war. It took me quite a bit of thinking to make things work out--like how Mimura got taken out early in the original because Okuda found him, but this time that doesn't happen because of Kimura, which now allows Karma to make Mimura do whatever "new job" he has for him ( >:) ) and etc etc. 
> 
> But anyways, much love, and looking forward to next update <3


	5. Battle Time, 3rd Period

Maehara gives Kayano a wave as she approaches him.

“Defense?” he says. He sits on a fallen log a few meters in front of the flag.

“Yep.” Kayano finds a nearby rock to sit on. “Although I’m surprised Isogai didn’t take you with him. You guys work so well together.”

“I wanted to, but I’m a lot better with knives than guns.” Maehara lets out a disappointed sigh. “And Hayami would’ve killed me before I could even get close enough.”

Kayano laughs. “That makes sense.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

“Wait, you want me to go _there?”_ Mimura’s surprise is audible.

“Yes,” Karma says. “It’s a bit risky, I know. But from Mr. Karasuma’s vantage point, you’ll have the clearest view of the entire battlefield.”

“Do you think I’m allowed to just go up there though?”

“There’s no reason why you aren’t. Just think of him as another part of the terrain.”

“Okay,” Mimura says. “So once I get there...”

“Locate Kayano. Give me her position and her movements. And don’t take your eyes off her.”

“Roger.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

As Kayano sits around the flag with Maehara, there’s a silence hanging in the air that feels a bit too pronounced.

Kayano’s never felt awkward around Maehara before; his easygoing, friendly personality never made it difficult to relax. But now, as they sit wordlessly, she doesn’t think she’s imagining the discomfort filling the space between them as he fiddles with his knife.

Before she realizes it, she opens her mouth.

“Maehara?”

He glances at her. “Huh?”

“I know that you have a lot of reason not to trust me. But I just wanted to say that right now, I’m going to give it my all to help us win this battle.”

Maehara blinks at her.

She takes a deep breath. “So I hope that you can at least trust me on this front. While we’re defending the flag together.”

The confusion on Maehara’s face turns into understanding.

“Oh,” he says. “Well, I do trust you when it comes to this. I’m glad that Isogai sent you to guard the flag with me, really.” Then he frowns and puts a hand to his chin. “But, um... Do you want my honest thoughts on your whole thing?”

Kayano nods slowly and inwardly steels herself. “Yes.”

Maehara lets out a small sigh. “So I have to admit that I did agree with some of the things that Karma said back there. I mean, not about killing Korosensei, because I’m on this team obviously.” He smiles, good-natured, but Kayano can see the slight strain in it. “But about you hiding everything from us the entire time. And not helping us.”

Kayano nods.

“Especially when he mentioned the island resort.” He slightly grimaces. “I mean, for a bit, I legit thought I was going to... maybe not make it out alive back there.”

The realization hits Kayano with a cold jolt. _Maehara was one of the people infected._

“But,” Maehara says before Kayano can say anything, “I also do believe what you said about the tentacles.”

Kayano can’t keep the surprise off her face. “You... do?”

“Well, we all saw how crazy Itona was when the tentacles were controlling him. They really do mess up your mind, don’t they?”

She remembers that night at the resort—fear and panic for her classmates’ lives filled her, raw and frantic and _real_ , while the tentacles were razor-sharp and merciless in cutting away at her thoughts.

 _Look at how the full-class assassination attempt failed even with all that planning and the target’s voluntary handicap,_ they hissed. _So don’t even think for a second that you can afford to stray from your goal of killing him._

And so she never did.

Kayano feels her hands clenching. “But the tentacles aren’t an excuse for what I did.”

Maehara shrugs. “Maybe not. But they give me some relief, honestly.” He gazes at her. “This might be naive, but I still want to believe that you were truly a member of the class. And that... now that the tentacles are gone, maybe you can finally be honest about yourself to us.”

Kayano remains silent.

Then Maehara leans back on his log and sighs. “Well, anyways, I just don’t know how to feel about this yet. And you. It’s a mix of everything, you know?”

“I understand,” Kayano says. “I’m happy that you believe me, though.”

“We’ll see how it goes from here, I guess.”

“Yeah. And... I’ll do my best to be more honest to you guys from now on.”

“That’s good.” The previous tension that Kayano detected in Maehara seems to have mostly dissipated. “Oh, but one thing I know for sure is that you were _extremely_ serious about saving Korosensei.”

Kayano blinks. “Why?”

“Because you were about to pick a fight with _Karma_ over it.” He smiles, and this time it fully contains his signature easygoing air. “And if that isn’t the absolute peak of seriousness, then nothing is.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

“Okay, guys,” Isogai says as Yada and Kurahashi fall into position beside him. “I know that we’re outnumbered, but don’t worry about anything other than eliminating Hayami and Itona. To win this fight, we’ll have to take some risks.”

Isogai peeks through the bushes at the tree a few meters in front of them. He can just make out the vague outline of Hayami’s form situated on its branches with Itona standing at its foot. He ducks back under the cover of the bushes before he can get spotted. 

He turns back to Kurahashi and Yada. “When we go in, Hayami’s probably going to try and take me out first,” he says. “So try to use that chance to land a hit on Hayami, okay?”

Yada and Kurahashi both nod.

“It’s all or nothing now.” Isogai raises his gun and bursts through the bushes. “ _Go!”_

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Gunshots ring from the right side of the forest—where Hayami is located. 

“Nakamura, that’s your cue,” Karma says. “Get ready to advance towards the flag.”

“Gotcha,” she responds.

As the sound of battle continues echoing, Karma pushes himself onto his feet to stand on his boulder.

Then Mimura’s voice comes from his comm.

“Hey, Karma?” 

“Mimura?” Karma says. “Something wrong?”

“I’m nearly there. But I think—” 

His voice is cut off by a gasp and a _thud._

The realization pierces Karma instantly. 

“Nakamura, Terasaka,” he says sharply, lifting his mic to his mouth. “Someone’s nearby— _watch out.”_

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Like Isogai expects, Hayami instantly swings her rifle in his direction as he rushes forward alongside Yada and Kurahashi.

“Yada! Kurahashi!” he yells. “Surround her from the left!”

He’s halfway through raising his own gun when he’s struck on the head, red paint splashing over his visor. Isogai falls to the ground with a grunt, but from the corner of his vision, he sees Yada take aim.

Hayami whirls to face Yada right before a burst of blue shoots across Hayami’s shoulder. Then Yada lets out a yelp as Itona fires at her. He pauses as she falls to the ground covered with red paint, but then spins around as Kurahashi darts towards him with her gun raised.

Blue paint bursts on Itona’s chest at the same time he sends red paint spraying across Kurahashi’s side.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

_Is that... Mimura?_

Nagisa watches Mimura climb up the ledge, although he’s careful to remain perfectly still. But Mimura is approaching from the side, so it’s only a matter of time until notices Nagisa standing behind Mr. Karasuma, his form sticking out from Mr. Karasuma’s profile.

Nagisa wonders if he should just try eliminating Mimura here and now. But before he can make a move, Mimura presses what seems to be his comm speaker to his ear.

Nagisa can just make out the words—“Hey, Karma?”

 _He’s reporting to Karma,_ Nagisa realizes with a jolt.

“I’m nearly there,” Mimura says, narrowing his eyes in Nagisa’s direction. “But I think—” 

In a single swift motion, Nagisa rushes forward and slashes at Mimura with his knife. The force of it sends Mimura tumbling off the ledge, and Nagisa inwardly apologizes as his classmate lets out a groan below him.

Then Nagisa turns to the large rock that sits just below Mr. Karasuma’s ledge.

_I’ve already been spotted anyways, so..._

Nagisa leaps onto the rock before springing off of it to surge over to its other side. As he lands, he twists around to fire a round of paintballs at the Red Team members on standby at its foot.

Blue paint explodes on Muramatsu and Yoshida. Nakamura yelps and ducks behind Terasaka right as he fires back at Nagisa with a yell of “WHERE THE _HELL_ DID YOU COME FROM?”

Nagisa lowers his gun when he feels a paintball hit his shoulder.

Terasaka blinks at him and slowly lowers his own gun.

Then Nakamura peeks her head out from behind Terasaka. “Bruh. Please never do that ever again.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

The sounds of battle echoing from Hayami’s area of the forest go silent, but then it’s followed by a yell that rings from Karma’s comms.

“WHERE THE _HELL_ —” is what Karma manages to hear, before it’s drowned out by the rattling of gunfire.

 _That’s Terasaka,_ he realizes.

When the gunshots fade, he says, “Nakamura, what’s the situation?”

“We just killed Nagisa, but he took out Muramatsu and Yoshida,” she responds. “And... I don’t know how he got so close to us.”

Karma feels his voice lowering. “He was hiding behind Mr. Karasuma the entire time.”

And if Karma hadn’t preemptively sent Mimura up there out of caution for Kayano, then Nagisa would’ve been able to eliminate all four of them the moment they were out on the field.

Karma shakes away the thought with a huff of wry amusement. _I guess my wariness still ended up paying off._

Then he turns his gaze to the direction of where he positioned Hayami and Itona. So far, there haven’t been any signs of new activity—no reports from Hayami or Itona, and no further advances from the Blue Team. They probably all took each other out.

Which means that Maehara and Kayano are the remaining Blue Team members.

“Nakamura, Terasaka.” Karma jumps off his boulder and lands on the ground. “We have a new plan.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

“I can’t reach Isogai either,” Maehara says, frowning with a hand raised to his comm speaker.

“They were probably... all eliminated.” Kayano says. “Nagisa was taken down, too. Which means that we’re the only ones left.”

Maehara’s eyes widen. “What about the Red Team though?”

“Hm.” Kayano mentally runs through the team members list. “Nagisa took care of Muramatsu and Yoshida, and assuming Hayami and Itona are down...”

Kayano narrows her eyes down the field that stretches between the Blue Team and the Red Team territories. In the distance, she can faintly make out the figure of someone—or _someones_ —advancing.

Kayano stands up from her rock. “Then it’s Terasaka, Nakamura, and Karma left.” 

“Oh shit,” Maehara says as Kayano reaches towards the knife strapped to her hip. “Are they coming?”

“I think so. I see people in the distance.” Kayano pauses as she hovers her hand over the hilt of her knife. Then she moves her hand away to grab her gun instead. 

Maehara stands up from his log and withdraws his knives, slightly grinning. “But if we manage to kill them all, we’ll win, right?”

Kayano nods, and the two of them turn to face the advancing enemies.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

As predicted, Nakamura sees only Kayano and Maehara standing guard around the flag. Maehara has his knives drawn and Kayano has her gun raised—but neither of them seem willing to make a move, instead choosing to stand firm in front of the flag.

Terasaka keeps his gun raised to match them as he advances alongside Nakamura.

When they’re only a dozen or so meters away from the flag, Nakamura taps Terasaka’s shoulder. “We need to draw them away,” she says, withdrawing her own gun. “Attack from here.”

“Okay,” Terasaka says, stopping to take aim.

Nakamura points her gun at Kayano, who widens her eyes and dodges to the side. At the same time, Maehara shouts something that sounds like “YOLO” before sprinting forward in a sudden burst of speed. Simultaneously, Terasaka follows Maehara’s movements with his aim, firing.

Maehara reaches Nakamura and slashes her across the side a second before Terasaka lands a paintball on his shoulder. As Nakamura stumbles to the ground, she watches Kayano seize the opportunity to rush forward towards Terasaka.

Terasaka spins around to face her, gun raised—but Kayano’s too fast, leaping forward into the air and barraging Terasaka with a round of blue paintballs before he can pull the trigger.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

When Kayano lands back on the ground after eliminating Terasaka, the first thing she feels is a rush of relief. _We haven’t lost this battle yet._ But as she gazes around the field, it quickly gets replaced by apprehension.

There are more no signs of action. No movement from the Red Team’s side of the field, no more figures advancing in the distance, and no Karma anywhere to be seen.

_Is he still guarding the red flag?_

That’s the first thought to flit through her mind. But it feels too simple and too straightforward, and it fails to bring her any reassurance. 

Kayano glances at Nakamura, who’s rubbing her back as she sits on the ground, and at Terasaka, who’s examining the blue paint on his chest with a scowl. 

The fight flashes through her head.

The way they engaged in it. The way they were the first ones to fire. The way they stopped their advance a dozen meters away.

_Like they weren’t actually trying to go for our flag._

There’s a faint rustle behind her.

_Like they were a distraction for something else._

And then Kayano whirls around to the sight of Karma lunging at the Blue Team flag.

She instantly fires at him.

Just as swiftly, Karma digs a foot into the ground and twists backwards out of the way. He narrowly dodges the paintballs before lurching to a stop just over an arm’s reach away from the flag.

Then he turns to her and they lock eyes.

“Just you and me now, huh? Let’s settle this, Kayano.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fight figHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT—
> 
> We are FINALLY at the showdown we've probably been waiting for >:)) 
> 
> And side note: my uni classes started have started again so I'm not _completely_ sure if I'll be able to update at the same time next week. But I already have a decent amount written, so most likely that won't be the case! updating this story so far has also just been something genuinely nice for me to look forward to amidst all the stresses of life right now, so I'm planning on keeping it up. See everyone next chapter! <3


	6. Confrontation Time

_Shoot him._

Kayano has her gun in the air, pointed straight at Karma. And although he’s one lunge away from securing the flag, he doesn’t move.

He _can’t_ move.

Not when she holds him at gunpoint and one pull of the trigger means his elimination.

_So shoot him and win this._

But then Karma smiles, cold and bitter and piercing. 

“Go on. Kill me right now.”

And the feeling of the trigger under Kayano’s finger is suddenly a bit too cold.

“Shooting me from that distance? That’s perfect for you,” Karma continues, in an airy, taunting drawl. “So high and mighty. So detached. After all, that’s how it’s always been with you and the rest of us.”

Kayano realizes that Karma’s taking slow steps towards her.

_He’s closing the gap on purpose._

_Shoot him,_ that part of her mind whispers again, more desperately this time.

But she can’t.

“You claim you’re being sincere about saving Korosensei, about your _feelings,”_ Karma says. “But we all know that’s fake. You just don’t want to face the revelation of your own lies. You don’t want to face _me.”_

Not like this.

Kayano lowly lowers a hand from the grip of her gun to reach for her knife at her hip.

“So go ahead.” Now Karma stands right in front of her. “Pull that trigger from far away and never face me directly.”

Kayano’s just about able to unsheathe her knife in time to block the sudden, swift slash of Karma’s blade as he lunges forward.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Although the wooden platform is a bit far from the field, Nagisa can still make out the words that Karma says as he approaches Kayano.

Beside Nagisa, Sugino lets out a groan. “That’s not fair! Karma can’t just—just _say_ that,” he says. “He’s only doing it because he knows she’ll shoot him and win.”

From behind Sugino, Nakamura sighs. “It feels dirty, I know.” She has a small, wry smile. “But in this case, I think it counts as fair game. He’s not... saying those things without a basis, you know.”

A hush falls over the class and a familiar tension fills the air. Nagisa notices how a few people share apprehensive glances with each other.

Then Korosensei steps forward.

“I believe that something like this would’ve been inevitable.” Korosensei’s voice is calm and in startling contrast to the stress that Nagisa’s feeling right now. 

Sugino raises an eyebrow at him. “You think so?”

Korosensei nods. “This is a battle of resolve as much as it is a battle of deciding whether or not to kill me. I’d say that the most important thing for Kayano right now is to prove her sincerity to the class. And especially to Karma.”

Nagisa blinks at him.

“So if Kayano wants to truly win this battle, then she has to find a way to beat Karma so that he’ll accept it. And in this case, shooting at him from a distance isn’t one of them.”

 _That makes sense,_ Nagisa thinks, resigned. _And there’s nothing that I can really do about it._

But as he glances at the battle, at Karma’s spiteful smirk and at Kayano’s conflicted frown, he still can’t help the uneasiness that fills him.

When he feels a soft pat on his head, he looks up at Korosensei.

“It’s understandable for you to feel worried. Both of them are your close friends, after all,” Korosensei says, his smile reassuring. “But I hope that you can put your trust in them and believe that they’ll find a way to resolve things peacefully.”

Nagisa takes in a deep breath to ease the nervous flutter inside him.

Then he nods at Korosensei with a smile. “Okay,” he says, turning his attention back to the battle. “I’ll trust them.”  
  


**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kayano’s arm shakes against Karma’s as she pushes against his knife with her own.

As she catches movement from the bottom edge of her vision, she pushes off the ground, leaping back to avoid the kick aimed at her legs. They both skid to a stop a few meters away from each other.

“Nice reflexes,” Karma says. “Those tentacles were pretty great, huh?”

Now Kayano feels the hesitation leave her face at that taunt, feels her expression harden.

_He wants to keep it in close quarters?_

She meets Karma’s gaze.

_Fine._

She raises her knife. “I would’ve been able to dodge that anyways.”

Karma narrows his eyes.

And then Kayano lunges forward, gun clenched in one hand, jabbing her blade towards him with the other. Karma dodges the attack, and before she can move, he shoots his hand forward to seize her outstretched wrist.

In a jolt of alarm, she tries to pull away. But his grip is iron and it only tightens as he then swings with his own knife. She just manages to duck and dodge it by a hair. With her knife hand immobilized, Kayano raises her gun, straining against the position she’s locked in, trying to get an angle at him from this tight distance.

Then Karma slams his shoulder into her, knocking her to the ground before she can take aim. She flips to face him right as he dives at her with his knife plunging downward. Just in time, she throws up her arms in a cross, the juncture of them catching and halting his knife by his wrist.

Pain burns in her muscles as she trembles against the weight of Karma’s body. He continues pushing, the tip of his knife shaking closer and closer to her chest. Then Kayano slams her feet into his stomach, kicking him off before he can overpower her.

Kayano shoves herself to her feet, panting, ignoring the soreness in her arms.

Karma coughs as he lands on the ground. But then he’s back on his feet in a blink, an eager smirk flickering across his face.

They rush towards each other again.

_Swing, parry, jab, dodge._

In the resulting blitz of attacks and evasions, Kayano realizes that where Karma surpasses her in strength, she’s just about able to surpass him in agility. They trade punches to the chests for kicks to the side, slams of the body for strikes of the elbow. Knives meet knives, and her gun never fires amidst of this endless storm of movement.

After a bit, Karma pauses, his chest slightly heaving.

Kayano rushes forward to seize the chance.

She realizes a second too late that it’s a bait, because then he instantly sweeps his foot across the ground and sends a flurry of brown and orange flying up to fill her vision. Before Kayano has time to adjust, he spins, kicking through the leaves.

It connects with her hand and her knife flies out of her grip.

Panic jumps inside her as the feeling of the knife in her hand is replaced by sudden unfamiliar nothingness. But as Karma charges forward to aim another jab at her direction, she dodges it before using her free hand to grab his wrist.

She feels Karma stiffen in surprise. Before he can react, she jerks him towards her and drives her knee into his chest.

He staggers backwards with a sharp inhale. As he does, Kayano realizes that he’s not holding his knife anymore, that it’s on the ground beside her, dropped when she kneed him.

_A chance—_

Kayano raises her gun—

Stars flash in her vision and pain bursts from her forehead. When she skids to a stop away from him with a hand raised to her face, Karma smiles.

“Sorry,” he says between light pants, “but that’s payback for the knee. And for stealing my wrist-grabbing move.”

Kayano shakes her head and refocuses her gaze.

“That’s what you should’ve expected when you got rid of my knife,” she shoots back, raising her gun again. “And now that I’m the only one with a weapon—”

But again, before she can take aim, a sharp impact strikes her across the side as Karma delivers a swift roundhouse kick.

“It’s not going to be that easy,” he says as she stumbles backwards. “Try to take aim, and that’s just an opening for me to land a hit.”

As Kayano regains her balance, she realizes dazedly, _Without knives to watch out for, it’s all just coming down to close combat._

And then Karma rushes at her again, a fist swinging.

_Karma’s specialty._

She blocks the swing with her arm, but the force of it still sends a shock of pain through her, and she staggers backwards from the blow. And as Karma continues sending out a merciless flurry of punches and kicks and jabs of the elbow, she gets pushed back further and further, unable to find even a second of an opening to take aim.

Her breaths are coming out as pants when she finally stumbles backwards into something hard, and she realizes that it’s a _tree_ —that she’s been pushed to the edge of the field, to the line where the forest begins.

Kayano twists behind it. It shudders as a heavy strike hits the other side with a resounding _thud._

“Come on, Kayano.” Karma appears from around the tree. “Don’t you think it’s time you quit hiding? You hid your abilities, your true colours, and now this.”

Kayano leaps back away from him. “I know that I hid a lot of things from you guys before.” Despite everything, she manages to keep her voice steady. “But now, I’m being honest with my feelings and fighting for what I truly want.”

“Which is to trample over everything we’ve built in this class.” Karma charges forward again.

Kayano dodges the swing he takes at her. “I understand your feelings, Karma. But no. It’s to save the teacher that I care about.”

Karma only scoffs before resuming his relentless barrage of attacks. And although they’ve moved into the forest, he’s unhindered by the change of terrain. Once again, Kayano finds herself stuck either blocking or dodging, with only windows to dish out quick punches in retaliation and never to fire her gun.

But as they move through the forest, she notices the familiarity of her surroundings. They’re on the Blue Team’s side of the forest, after all—but she realizes that she distinctly recognizes this arrangement of trees and bushes and the uneven pattern of the ground.

_This is where I fought Okano earlier._

Which means that...

The high ledge flashes in the edge of her vision.

And it hits her like lightning.

_I can still win this._

She tightens her grip on her gun and jumps away from Karma.

“Still not down?” He closes the distance in a heartbeat. “You have to be pretty tired by now.”

“I’m not going down until I win this.” She blocks his punch, then sends a kick towards him. “Didn’t I tell you already? Once I set my mind to something, I don’t stop.”

“Oh, I know _that.”_ Karma dodges it. “You made it loud and clear when you tried to murder our teacher.”

And even though by now she’s brushed off countless taunts and jabs from Karma, something inside her heart twists at those words.

The hesitation must’ve been visible on her face, because then Karma’s expression hardens.

“See? We both know how much you wanted him dead.” He’s in front of her again, fists swinging. “And now you want me to believe you truly want to save him.”

This time, Kayano doesn’t block his hits—instead, she lets herself get driven back by them, taking rapid steps and leaps.

The high ledge is visible from the corner of her vision now.

“You’re right,” Kayano says. “I did want Korosensei dead.”

But not just dead.

With every one of Kayano’s evasions, Karma follows closely after her, swift and unrelenting.

She wanted Korosensei killed by her own two hands.

Because she remembers the way everything went cold when she saw her sister’s dead body.

She continues moving, ducking and dodging and darting away.

Because she remembers the way that pain still tore through her over and over again, even after countless nights of quiet sobs and unseen tears.

The ledge grows closer and closer.

Because she remembers the way the emptiness clung to her, merciless, endless, and how the only thing that could fill it was her own stifling, bitter hatred.

Kayano takes one final step back to dodge another punch, and Karma’s expression turns triumphant as her foot stops right before the edge of the drop.

“But now,” she says, loud and shaking, “I will defeat you and I _will_ save Korosensei.”

She jumps backwards off the ledge.

And in the air, with no way for him to stop her, Kayano _finally_ raises her gun.

Karma’s eyes widen, the triumph in his expression crumbling into realization.

“Because,” Kayano yells, pressing down on the trigger, “I don’t ever want to lose someone important to me again!”

It’s in this moment when she realizes that her vision has blurred, that her aim is distorted.

Still, she fires.

And before she can see anything else, before she can watch the blue paint burst, everything rushes upwards out of her view as she falls down, down, down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAA I'M PRETTY PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
> I actually barely have experience with action scenes, so while writing this there were sooo many moments were it was like... one of them attacks, the other jumps back, and then i just sit there like "uh ok. what next bro" LOL  
> But honestly, I think this turned out nice, and this might be my favourite chapter of this story so far.
> 
> And as always, thank you to my readers who've stayed with me thus far! I hope you enjoyed--we're nearing the end of it all :'))) See you next chapter <3
> 
> (also this is actually the [same cliff during her battle with Okano](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/705552350089183286/802030514403672144/unknown.png) in the original civil war! That battle is where everything changed, too... We've lowkey come full circle, kinda??)


	7. Outcome Time

The first thing that Karma feels, as Kayano raises her gun at him, is realization. And then it’s followed by a bolt of panic, lightning-fast and steel-sharp, because _she’s going to_ —

She fires.

There’s the sharp pop of a paintball bursting.

And then she falls down, down, down, and disappears under the edge. A few seconds later, Karma hears a soft _thud_ from somewhere beneath him. 

Silence.

Karma slowly turns his gaze downwards.

The front of his uniform is clean. He didn’t feel an impact on his body, either.

So that means...

Karma looks behind him. 

There’s a burst of blue paint on the ground.

With a sharp inhale, he glances over the edge. Kayano’s on the ground a dozen or so meters beneath him. Their uniforms have shock absorption. From that distance, there’s practically no chance that the fall actually injured her.

And more importantly...

Karma whirls around, back to the direction of the field, back to the direction of the Blue Team’s flag.

This might just buy him enough time to get the flag.

He begins making his way through the forest in a hasty jog, retracing the steps they took as they moved through the area during their fight. Judging from the height of that ledge, it’ll only take around a minute for Kayano to climb back up.

He quickens his pace.

And she’ll instantly realize what he's doing, with that intuition she has—she could sense the paintball aimed at Isogai, could anticipate Karma’s own advance towards the flag even with the diversion, and...

When they both lost their knives, when their fight moved to close physical combat, she _knew_ she couldn't win it, not against Karma at least. So she deliberately let herself get cornered to pull off a surprise move.

Karma feels leaves crunching and twigs snapping beneath his steps.

A surprise move that would’ve ended the game. That would’ve sent a paintball flying straight at him at point-blank range with no way for him to anticipate it, let alone dodge it. 

That would’ve eliminated him right then and there.

Karma can just about make out the edge of the field in the distance through the trees.

 _Should’ve_ eliminated him.

Karma pauses.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

Kayano pushes herself to a sitting position.

Mr. Karasuma’s supposed to announce the winning team the moment either side wins. 

But as she silently raises a hand to wipe at the tears in her eyes, she only hears the rustle of leaves in the distance. It’s accompanied by the faint chirping of birds and the faraway gurgle of the river. 

No voices. No announcement of victory.

Which means that...

Her stomach sinks as she wipes away the last traces of blurriness in her vision.

She missed.

And Karma’s probably making his way to the flag right now.

She stands up and walks over to the cliff face. Gripping onto a rock jutting out from it, she begins climbing up.

Part of her wonders if she should even be bothering. After all, it’s only a matter of time before Karma secures the flag and the announcement of the Red Team’s victory rings from her speakers. Only a matter of time before her efforts will all be in vain and the class will continue with their assassinations.

Maybe this was a hopeless battle ever since the start. It’s crystal clear to her now—no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t fully match up to Karma’s combat prowess.

_“We both know how much you wanted him dead. And now you want me to believe that you truly want to save him.”_

And no matter how hard she tried, she still was never able to make Karma believe the sincerity of her words.

She takes in a shaking breath as she approaches the top. Then she grabs it and pulls herself up to hang off of it.

A hand is outstretched in front of her.

Kayano looks up. Then, slowly, silent from the surprise, she grabs Karma’s hand. He doesn’t say anything as he pulls her onto the ledge.

When she’s finally back on the ground, she turns to him. “Why are you—”

“You missed.”

“What? You mean...” Then she notices the splash of blue on the ground behind him.

“You missed that shot, even though it was practically at point-blank range.” Karma’s tone betrays no emotion. “How?”

“I...” 

That’s not what she was expecting.

_I what?_

_I had tears in my eyes?_

She almost wants to laugh at how absurd that sounds. Kaede Kayano, the student who seamlessly infiltrated the class, who laughed and smiled and fooled everybody as tentacles ate at her mind, who flawlessly hid her murderous intent from Korosensei himself, somehow tearing up in the middle of such an important battle? _Akari Yukimura,_ the acting prodigy, tearing up out of nowhere just like that?

 _I can promise you that my words are true,_ she told Karma, in nearly a desperate plea, not even an hour ago.

And she can still hear his response, cold and firm— _Sorry, Kayano,_ _but any promise you make means nothing to me right now._

After all, she spent the entire year deceiving her classmates. Why would he trust her this time? 

Already, she finds herself scouring her mind for any other plausible explanations she can give him instead. Maybe an excuse about the wind. Or the fact that her aim was never the best in the class. Or maybe because— 

_Now that the tentacles are gone, maybe you can finally be honest about yourself to us._

Kayano freezes, because the echo of Maehara’s words is sudden and unexpected and _new._ Then it’s followed by Nagisa’s.

_I hope that someday, you’ll be able to express yourself without hiding. Both the good and the bad._

And she takes a deep breath and looks at Karma.

“The reason is probably stupid.”

Karma tilts his head ever so slightly.

“I deal with Terasaka on a daily basis. I can handle stupid.”

Kayano manages a small smile. “I don’t know.”

“I could’ve gotten the flag by now.”

“I... I know.”

“Missing the shot practically ensured your loss. There’s nothing you could’ve gained from that. It doesn’t make sense.” He raises an eyebrow. “So whatever explanation you have, I want to hear it.”

“I had tears in my eyes.”

He blinks. “What?”

“Literal tears.” Kayano smiles wryly. “I couldn’t aim properly because my vision was too blurry.”

“You were... crying?” Now he looks confused. “Wait, did my attacks hurt that—”

“No, not because of your attacks.” 

“Then why?”

“It’s because I was remembering my sister.”

Surprise flutters across Karma’s features.

“She died last year, so the memory of it is still... pretty fresh.” Kayano isn’t sure how she’s managing to say this all easily when she was hesitating just moments ago. But even then, she can't help but let herself look away from Karma as she speaks, bracing herself for that doubt and distrust to begin filling the air between them. “I’m mostly fine by now, but those months after her death were... pretty bad. And even now, thinking about it all still hurts.”

Karma stares at her, silent, his expression now unreadable.

“But the thing is, that’s why I want to save Korosensei.” Kayano feels a familiar tightness growing in her chest, but she pushes through it. “I lost my sister, and I don’t want to lose him too.” She takes a deep breath. “So fighting you, fighting for that cause... I guess it brought back those feelings.”

Karma continues gazing at her wordlessly.

“It’s fine though,” Kayano says quickly. “There are other reasons, too. It’s just that—” 

She realizes that a tear has already trailed down her cheek.

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

There are very few occasions where Karma finds himself wordless not out of disinterest, but out of actual speechlessness. But as he listens to Kayano and watches a tear slide down her cheek, there’s nothing he can use to describe this feeling _besides_ speechlessness. He can still feel that buzz of uneasiness inside him, incessant as always, but now there’s something new underneath it. He doesn’t quite know what it is yet, but it’s enough to make him gaze at her in silence, listen to her words, empty of any of his usual criticism or retorts.

“It’s fine though,” Kayano suddenly says, and he can see her try to give him a reassuring smile. “There are other reasons, too. It’s just that—”

She freezes. Then she raises a hand to her cheek.

“Ah, sorry,” she mumbles. She rubs the tear away with her palm. “I don’t know why that happened.”

 _With strong emotions, they latch onto your mind,_ Itona told Karma when he asked about tentacles. _Especially if you're mentally at a low point. The negative feelings are amplified, and they turn into the only thing you can focus on._

And now, as he watches Kayano take in soft, deep breaths and press at her eyes with her sleeve, he can hear too clearly the echo of Kayano’s words in his head— _I’m mostly fine by now,_ _but those months after her death were... pretty bad._

_I lost my sister, and I don’t want to lose him too._

_She could be faking this all,_ that dark, bitter part of himself instinctively growls. But the distrust and fury that drive those words somehow now feels dull in the face of this... 

This _what?_

Indecision?

Pity?

 _Or maybe,_ whispers a barely-there thought inside him, _understanding._

And then Karma finds himself saying, “You can cry if you want.”

“What?”

His own words feel unfamiliar to him. “It’s... understandable.” 

Kayano shakes her head and drops her hand. “No, really. I’m fine.”

“You... sure?”

“Yeah,” Kayano says. “And I can usually control my tears. Since I had actor training and all that, you know. But this time...”

This time, she couldn’t, because the tears were real. This time, she couldn’t, because her feelings were genuine.

This time, she couldn’t.

And she missed her shot.

The answer he was looking for.

“This time... things got weird,” Kayano finally says, with a small laugh. “Our fight probably distracted me too much. It was pretty intense, after all.” 

Karma turns to face the forest. “Then let’s go.”

“Go?”

He glances back at her with a challenging smile. “Like you said, we still have a fight to finish.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

To Kayano’s surprise, Karma leads her out of the forest and back to the field. 

“Why here?” Kayano glances around the clearing. She spots her classmates sitting on a wooden platform in the distance and can vaguely make out the confusion on their faces. “Our fight technically was stopped back there in the forest. This is where our fight _began.”_

“There’s something that I think should be fixed.”

She follows him with a frown.

Karma pauses and murmurs, “I think it was around here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were here.” Karma then walks away from her, and to her growing alarm, towards the Blue Team flag. He stops just over an arm's reach away from it. 

“And I was here.” He turns back to face her. There’s around a dozen meters of distance between the two of them.

Kayano tightens her grip on her gun. “What are you—” 

He smirks. “Let's test your reaction time for real this time.”

Then he lunges at the Blue Team flag, and before she knows it, her gun is in the air. 

The paintball hits Karma a moment before he seizes the flag.

He stumbles to a stop with the Blue Team flag in his hand and bright blue paint splashed across his chest.

Kayano stares at him with her gun still raised. She's just now able to process the feeling of the trigger pressed under her finger.

There’s a beat of stunned silence.

And then Mr. Karasuma’s voice booms across the clearing.

“With the capture of the flag invalidated by the elimination of the last Red Team member, Blue Team—the ‘ _don’t kill’_ team—has won!”


	8. Resolution Time

It takes a few more seconds of wide-eyed staring before Mr. Karasuma’s words finally make sense to Kayano.

She lowers her gun and walks towards Karma. “What?”

He glances at her. “Hm?”

“You just—You just gave me the victory.” Kayano frowns. “Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t give it to you.” He shrugs. “The moment you pulled off that cliff move, you already won.”

“But I didn’t! I missed the shot. You should've won from that.”

At that, he turns to her fully. “But why did you miss?”

“My... My tears. But...”

“Not just that. Those tears were a result of your emotions. You missed from the sincerity of your own emotions.” Karma gives her a wry smile. “And that’s exactly what I used against you at the start of the fight.”

_At the start of the fight..._

Then his words echo in her head, crystal-clear— _You claim you’re being sincere about saving Korosensei, about your feelings. But we all know that’s fake. You just don’t want to face the revelation of your own lies. You don’t want to face_ me _._

Even though she knew it was deliberate, an intentional attempt by Karma to stall and close the gap, she remembers the distress that still paralyzed her at those words.

_So go ahead. Pull that trigger from far away and don’t ever face me directly._

Those words. Ones that made the trigger ice-cold and impossible to press, because she couldn’t shoot, not when everything about him in that moment dripped of spite and distrust and threatened to never forgive her if she pressed it. Not when his words, harsh as they were, carried such much weight behind them, not when she _knew_ how much it all meant to him. To the both of them.

“You could’ve shot me back then, too. But you didn’t, because I put you in a position that would've discredited your sincerity.” He shrugs. “And when your own sincerity is the very thing that made you miss that second shot... It’s only fair that I gave _this_ shot to you, right?”

Kayano gazes at him. “Karma...”

Before she can say anything else, he points over his shoulder at the wooden platform. “Anyways, what do you say we get back to our class now?” 

Kayano sees their classmates getting off the platform, eagerly jumping and dropping and climbing off of it, confusion and excitement and surprise all over their faces.

She smiles. “That’s a good idea.” 

The two of them begin making their way over to meet their classmates. 

“By the way,” Karma says as they walk.

“Hm?”

“Jumping off a cliff as a surprise last-ditch resort? I approve of that.”

“Huh? What does that—”

He lets out a laugh. “Don’t worry about it.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

When Kayano rejoins the class along with Karma, Nagisa’s the first one to run up to them.

“You guys!” His expression is equal parts relieved and confused. “Was everything okay? I saw Kayano win but Karma, you—How did—”

Karma grins back. “She took a page out of my book.”

Now Nagisa’s face is just fully confused. “What?”

Before Karma can respond, all three of them are interrupted by the rest of the class rushing forward to greet them in an indiscernible combination of questions and yells, ranging from _“What in the world happened in that forest?”_ to _“Karma are your ribs okay?”_ to _“FUCK YEAH BLUE TEAM WINS.”_

Kayano laughs as Karma begins responding to all of the questions. But as the class gets carried by the wave of excitement and confusion, she can’t help but let herself slink out of the group. She might’ve won Karma’s acceptance, but... she can’t assume the same for everybody else.

When she exits the crowd, Korosensei walks up to her.

“I honestly couldn’t predict the outcome of that battle myself,” he says. “You did well to come out on top in the end.” 

His smile is the same as always, but it gives Kayano a feeling of bittersweet warmth that she doesn’t expect.

“And,” Korosensei continues before Kayano can say anything, “I understand if you’re still a bit hesitant about rejoining the class. You must be aware that your own reveal isn’t something that can be forgotten or shaken off easily.”

Kayano nods, a twinge in her chest. “Yeah.”

“But I hope you don’t worry too much. As long as you’re true to yourself, then your sincerity will make itself clear.” Korosensei’s gaze softens. “You were able to get through to Karma. I have no doubt that you’ll be able to make your feelings clear to the rest of class as well.”

Kayano glances back at her class. Karma’s still in the thick of the crowd, laughing at all the confusion from the classmates around him. Maehara and Sugino are practically in his face, expressions wide-eyed and filled with confusion and excitement. Terasaka runs up to Karma with his arm in a motion that looks like he's about to poke him in the ribs, but then Isogai steps forward and begins trying to calm the class. Beside Karma stands Nagisa, who has a relieved smile on his face. Het lets out what looks like a resigned sigh before turning his head and catching Kayano’s gaze.

He waves at her.

As Kayano waves back, she feels a soft pat on her head.

“So when you go back to address the class,” Korosensei says from beside her, “hold your head up high, knowing that you won that battle. _Both_ of them.”

**~.~.~.~.~.~**

When Nagisa’s the first person to run up to Karma and Kayano, Karma can’t deny the amusement he feels from the utter astonishment on his friend’s face. But turns out, it’s not just him. It’s nearly _everyone,_ seeing as Sugino and Terasaka and Maehara all crowd around them in an unintelligible mess of yells and questions. Karma waits until they finish being all confused before inevitably crushing their hopes by just smugly sticking out his tongue without offering a single answer.

And then when Nakamura steps out from behind the crowd to raise an eyebrow at Karma, followed by Itona, who gazes at him with a mix of intrigue and knowingness, Karma feels just the slightest hint of resignation. Mainly because he knows that he at least won’t be able to hide _all_ the fun-to-hide details from some particularly perceptive members of the class.

Then, after a bit, Kayano steps forward to speak up.

“I know how much assassination means to everybody... And I’m not planning on giving it up completely,” she says as she faces the class. Now there’s not a detectable trace of hesitation on her face—only a smile filled with relief and eyes gleaming with determination. “But at least for now, as a class, is it okay for us to try and find a way to save Korosensei?”

And Karma smiles. 

“Well, it’s your win, Kayano.” 

He doesn’t expect his own words to come out as _warm_ as they do, but that only mildly surprises him more than anything.

“Tell us what you want us to do. Whatever it is, we’ll listen to....”

And right now, he certainly doesn’t mind them.

“...and I’ll trust.”

_~end~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnd that's a wrap :')) These last two chapters felt too closely related for me to post them separately, so I decided to post them at the same time. I hope this ending was satisfying! I actually struggled with planning this part quite a bit; I really wanted to find a way to end this fight in a way that actually was significant, and not just whoever was physically a better fighter. In the original civil war, Karma loses to Nagisa because he surrenders out of respect, so I really wanted to make sure to do a similar thing here, where he loses as a result of his development and not just by chance or strength. 
> 
> But anyways, thank you everyone--it's been a really wonderful past few weeks! To be honest, at first, I was pretty intimidated by the idea of writing this, since handling multi-chapter plots/developments is pretty far out of my comfort zone and I tend to overthink my plotting a lot. But now that it's over, I have to say that I'm pretty proud of how it all turned out, but I also want to express my appreciation for everybody who's been following this and giving me the support and motivation to see it through to the end. I hope you enjoyed witnessing the development of Karma and Kayano and following this story! And as always, thank you for reading <3


	9. Epilogue

Perhaps one day, when Kayano recounts her junior high years, she will find it poetic that the day of her class’s graduation is the day they finally succeed in assassinating Korosensei.

But right now, as she makes her way to the 3-E classroom, she can only feel the ache in her chest and the weight in her heart. Part of her still can’t believe that it really happened. That their teacher really broke apart into those painfully beautiful shards of light, that now he’s gone and no more reachable than the stars in the night sky.

The other part of her tells herself to keep walking and to hold her head up high. Because that’s what he told her all those weeks ago, and that’s he would’ve told her now.

Her classmates walk down the hall alongside her. Amid the footsteps and shuffling, she can hear soft sniffles and even some quiet sobs. And although it’s to be expected, that doesn’t stop the pain that twists inside herself at those sounds of grief.

However, she doesn’t expect to hear a voice call her name from behind her before she can reach the classroom door.

“Kayano.”

She quickly blinks away the remaining tears in her eyes and pulls Maehara’s jacket a bit tighter around herself. Then she turns around.

“Karma?”

The only source of light is the moonlight that dimly shines from the window high on the wall, so she’s just barely able to make out his expression. He looks composed at first glance, but she can detect weariness in the tight line of his lips and maybe even sorrow in the shadows of his eyes.

“Is something wrong?” she says.

“Are you, uh...” Karma pauses. “How are you holding up?” 

Instinctively, Kayano raises a hand to her chest—to the place where that horrible rip tore through herbody less than half an hour ago. Even though she’s been fully healed, she can still feel a sting in her heart as she thinks about how she was saved. About _who_ saved her.

“Don’t worry.” She drops her hand. “It actually barely hurts now. I’ll be fine.” 

He blinks. “Oh, that’s good to hear. But I didn’t mean that. I meant...” There’s a flutter of movement on his face that nearly looks like a wince. “I meant Korosensei,” he finally says. “Are you feeling okay?”

It takes Kayano a moment to process his words through the surprise that fills her. “I’m probably managing about as well as anybody else here.” Then she adds, “What about you?” She couldn’t help but notice the way his voice seemed to waver at the name of their teacher.

His gaze flickers to the side. “Same,” he says. “But, well, you also... went through some stuff this past year.”

He doesn’t say it directly, but Kayano instantly knows that he’s talking about her sister.

“And more importantly,” Karma continues, “I know how much you cared about him and how much you wanted to save him.”

It’s been over two months since that battle, but her memories of it instantly resurface with steel-sharp clarity. The fury that emanated from him and the uneasiness that spread across her classmates. The pain that shook her body as she took blow after blow and the feeling of falling through empty space as she pulled the trigger.

And beneath it all, the determination that burned inside her as she fought for her purpose.

“Yeah,” Kayano says, softly. “I really, really wanted to find a way to save him. To keep him in our lives.” She pauses, feeling her heart clench. “And now, knowing that it was all for nothing...” 

Karma slowly nods. “Yeah, so with how things turned out, I didn’t know if you were—”

“But you were right, Karma.”

“Huh?”

“Killing him was the right thing to do. It’s what we were working towards this whole year, and it mattered so much to our class.” A small smile is on her face before she realizes it. “Of all the ways everything could’ve ended in that situation, this was the best one. I’m glad that we did it.”

Karma looks taken aback by that. After a few moments, he says, “I guess we were both right in our own ways back then.”

“Yeah.”

Then he smirks. “You never apologized for almost breaking my ribs though.”

“What? You apologize first for headbutting me then.”

They enter the classroom together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a small scene that I got the idea for around halfway through writing this story. Short, but hope you enjoyed nonetheless!


End file.
